'Big things' - Leeds United man sends out Championship promotion warning after 'difficult' Middlesbrough test

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Leeds United came through a stern midweek test to go top of the Championship.

There may be plenty of Championship football still to play but Joe Rothwell hopes wins like the one over Middlesbrough on Tuesday can set Leeds United up to achieve ‘big things’.

An eighth straight home win put Leeds back on top of the Championship thanks to goals from Willy Gnonto, Dan James and Brenden Aaronson. Max Wober’s own-goal pulled Boro back into the game at 1-1 shortly after half-time but Daniel Farke’s side were able to pick themselves up with a pair of brilliant counter-attacking goals.

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Leeds had only conceded one goal in their previous seven home games and so Boro offered a sterner test than most, with the game finely balanced right up until Brenden Aaronson made it 3-1 in added-time. And Rothwell welcomed the challenge of a team doing something other than parking the bus and praying their hosts had an off-day.

“Really tough, but we obviously knew that before coming into the game,” Rothwell told Sky Sports. “They're a top side in this league, and to be fair they tried to play football - they were one of the few teams that have tried to do that this season. They managed to get back in the game but we found that bit of quality towards the end and it’s a massive three points for us.”

Leeds have now bounced back from a disappointing early defeat at home to Burnley to beat two of their other likely promotion rivals. Sheffield United left Elland Road last month having lost 2-0 without even registering a shot on target, while Boro fell victim to the devastating counter-attacking pace of Farke’s men.

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Those wins yield three points just like any other but they also send a message, cementing Leeds’ status as hot promotion favourites. And Rothwell hopes they can provide an early foundation for his loan club to go one better than the previous campaign.

“I think these are a team that will be right up there come the end of the season,” the midfielder added of Middlesbrough. “These games are massive, it's still quite early in the season but we can set our stall out. It sets us up to hopefully go on and achieve big things this year.”

Leeds have now won four of their last five but face the kind of test that has plagued their progress before. Farke’s men are back on the road this weekend and travel to Preston for a Saturday lunchtime away-day.

While it was an hour later than usual, last month’s 1-0 defeat at Blackburn Rovers typified the issues Leeds tend to face when on the road at the end of a three-game week. Things never looked like clicking at Ewood Park and ideas were seemingly thin on the ground as Rovers defended relatively comfortably.

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Preston will offer a different test and the 18th-placed strugglers have nothing like the home form of their Lancashire rivals. But they have taken points off West Brom and Sunderland in recent weeks at Deepdale, drawing their last three and losing just once in the league since mid-August.

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